Railway signal



y 8, 1951 c. D. EAVES 2,551,831

RAILWAY SIGNAL Filed May 24, 1946 INVENTOR. Camozz Eaves M u l l orfij Patented May 8, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY SIGNAL 7 Carson D. Eaves, Memphis, Tenn.

' Application May 24, 1946, Serial No. 672,009

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a sign, and more particularly to a railway signal for use in designatin warnings, such as at a railroad crossing.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a signal having a face plate with cut away portions indicating a signal, in combination with a back plate of a color contrasting to the color of the face plate to form a solid background for the cut away portions of said face plate.

Another object is the provision of a signal with a stencilled face plate and a back plate associated therewith, so designed and constructed that the signal stands out and does not become illegible by reason of exposure to weather, and the back plate can be easily disassociated from the face plate for cleaning or painting.

Still another object is to provide a railway signal comprising a hollow face plate and a multicolored back plate of colors contrasting to the color of the face plate.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description thereof and from the claim appended thereto.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views;

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my signal assembly embodying the features of this invention,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the view of Figure 1, I

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the two-toned back plate,

Figure 4 is a view taken along the line l l of Figure 1, in the direction of the arrows, and

Figure 5 is a front elevation with parts broken away of a modified form of my invention.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, the numeral I0, generally represents a cylindrical pole or back plate, made of any desirable material, such as metal or wood. The back plate I0, has a painted area I I, which may be of any desired color, such as red. In Vertical alignment with the painted area II, is a second painted area I2, which adjoins painted area II, and may be any desired color, such as black. A face plate I3, having cutout portions I4, is secured to the pole or back plate It, by means of bands I5, which encircle the pole I0, and are secured together by means of a screw I6, and a locknut IT.

The face plate I3, may be moved vertically on the pole III, so that the cut away portions I4, shown as numerals, may have either a red background or a black background, as desired. The face plate I3, is painted a color which is different from the color of the painted areas II and I2. It is preferred that the face plate be of white enamel or coated with an aluminum paint.

If desired, in order to make the face plate stand out more distinctly with reference to the cut away portions I4, some of the said cut away portions may have a solid background of one color, such as red, while the remaining cut away portions have a different background color, such as black.

When it is desired to remove the face plate l3, from the pole Iii, the nut I7, is disengaged from the screw it, and the flexible bands I5, permit the easy removal of said face plate I3. The face plate 13, can thus be conveniently cleaned and repainted. If it is only desired to paint the area II, for example, the face plate I3, need not be removed from the pole It. If the painted area I2, needs repainting, the face plate I3, can be moved vertically to a position overlying the painted area II.

In Figure 5, I show a pair of cries-cross warning signals 2!? and 2E, which are secured together intermediate the ends thereof, and attached to a pole 22.

The cross face plate 26, is provided with cutout portions 23, on the front side thereof, which spell out a word, which is a part of a warning signal. The said face plate Zil, is hollow by construction and is adapted to receive therein an insert back plate 24, which engages within the face plate 26, throughout its length. On the opposite side of the face plate 28, there are provided cut away portions 25, which spell out a word which completes the warning signal. For example, on one side of the face plate 20, the Word Crossing appears, while on the opposite side of the face plate 26, the work Railroad appears. Together the words spell Railroad Crossing, a warning signal.

It is preferred that the face plate 2%, be of white enamel or be painted with aluminum paint to make it stand out. The back plate 24, is preferably painted with a black enamel paint throughout its length, but, if desired, part of said back plate 2t, may be painted in one color while the remaining portion may be painted in a different color, with both of said colors being different from the color of the face plate 2%. Likewise, one side of the back plate 2 t, may be painted one color, for example, black, While the other side thereof, may be painted a different color, for example, red.

The face plate 2 I, is similar in construction to the face plate 20, and is provided with cutaway portions 26, which together spell a word, which supplements the word on the same side of the face plate 29, so that the two words together spell out a signal warning. The cut-out portions in the plate 2|, spell Railroad, while the cutout portions in corresponding side of the face plate 20, spell Crossing.

The face plate 2|, is hollow in construction and is adapted to receive for sliding engagement therein a back plate 27, which engages in the face plate 2!, throughout its length. The back plate 21, is similar in construction and color to the back plate 24.

The face plate 2|, like the face plate 20, on its opposite side is provided with cut away portions 28, which together spell a Word which in combination with the Word on the front side of the face plate 2!, spell out a signal Warning. For example, on the front side of the face plate 2?, there appears the word Railroad, while on the rear side of the face plate 2|, there appears the word Crossing.

Modifications of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof and it is therefore desired to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A railway signal comprising, two hollow crisscross face plates having cutaway portions on opposite sides thereof to provide a danger signal, a back plate for removable slidable endwise engagement in each of said crisscross face plates, each of said back plates having a portion thereof being of one color and the remaining portion 4 thereof being of a different color, said back plates having both ends thereof similar in size and shape whereby said back plates are adapted to have their opposite ends selectively initially inserted in said hollow face plates so that the different colored portions of the back plates will be selectively visible through the cutaway portions of the face plates, and said face plate being of a difierent color from the colors of all the portions of said back plates.

CARSON D. EAVES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 267,417 Ghezzi Nov. 14, 1882 547,252 Harding Oct. 1, 1895 715,766 Dreman Dec. 16, 1903 777,482 McDonald Dec. 13, 1904 800,031 Travis Sept. 19, 1905 848,253 Kraus Mar. 26, 1907 924,403 Utt June 8, 1909 1,090,294 Gee Mar. 17, 1914 1,096,580 Webb May 12, 1914 1,665,374 Lavarack et al Apr. 10, 1928 1,666,862 McI-Ienry 1 Apr. 17, 1928 1,775,725 Keith Sept. 16, 1930 1,944,498 Crick Jan. 23, 1934 2,221,290 Slawson Nov. 12, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,501 Great Britain June 18, 1896 

